Product description

Coming to terms over her breakup with criminal profiler Dr. Tony Hill, Chief Inspector Carol Jordan plunges into a risky undercover sting: track down a European drug trafficker and gain his confidence. But she's being tracked as well-by a serial killer whose psychosexual madness is born out of the darkest corners of history. In quiet isolation, Tony Hill is laying to rest the scars of his past-until he's recruited back into business on a case he can't ignore. An evil is striking uncomfortably close to home, and casting a killer shadow over the life of his long-time colleague and sometimes lover. As the danger closes in, and as Tony and Carol cross paths to navigate the terrain of a shattered human mind, they have no one left to trust but themselves-and fear that there's no place left to run as a killer promises to fulfill his most twisted dreams.
Deftly merging the dark terrain of forensic psychology with the brooding, crime-streaked world of post-Cold War Europe, Val McDermid's "The Last Temptation "is an unrivaled tour de force that takes Tony Hill further into the mind of a killer than he's ever dared to go before.

Author information

Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community and then read English at Oxford. She was a journalist for sixteen years and is now a full-time writer and lives in South Manchester. In 1995, she won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year. Her most recent novel, " A Place of Execution," won a "Los Angeles Times" Book Prize, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and named a "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year.

Review quote

"Relentless, electric and absorbing, this is a thriller not to miss." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review," "A Best Book of 2002"
"[McDermid is] the best we've got." -"The New York Times Book Review"
"A tense thriller...a chain of events that brings a frenetic conclusion followed by a smart-well-concealed twist." -"Boston Globe"
"A psychologically chilling and multifaceted thriller...With consummate skill and pacing, [McDermid] braids together the complex story lines through surprising revelations, heart-stopping suspense and cruel double-crosses...creating even more tension. McDermid's writing and her understanding of the criminal mind get better with each novel. With its European locales, depiction of Nazi-mind experiments and hints at another Jordan/Hill novel, this may well be her breakout book. She certainly deserves it."-"Publishers Weekly"
"McDermid's Dr. Tony Hill is so tortured he makes Thomas Harris's troubled heroes seem like lighthearted game-show hosts. McDermid has become a whiz at generating breathless, crosscutting suspense."--"GQ"
"This well-executed novel has it all: a complex, suspenseful plot, a full cast of interesting characters, and two budding romances."-"Library Journal"
"Exciting and compassionate." -Salon.com
"White-knuckle suspense, hot action, and graphic chills. Sure to be a hit with thriller fans."
-"Booklist"
"Irresistible...McDermid skillfully controls her cast...This is a hugely ambitious novel, involving three police forces, [and] the settings in Berlin are vividly evoked."-"The Daily Express" (UK)
"More than just a serial killer novel, ["The Last Temptation" is] a masterful examination of evil and the relics of Nazi and Stasi years in Germany."-"The Guardian" (UK)
"Val McDermid is one of the few crime authors who can be convincing when it comes to writing tough, yet retain a powerful emotional insight."-"Scotland on Sunday" (UK)
"A scary, disturbing, excit

Back cover copy

Electrifying critics and readers alike with her award-winning novels, bestselling author Val McDermid spins another masterful thriller, which reveals the dark dreams of her most ingenious-and chillingly believable-villain yet...
No evil can resist...
Coming to terms over her breakup with criminal profiler Dr. Tony Hill, Chief Inspector Carol Jordan plunges into a risky undercover sting: track down a European drug trafficker and gain his confidence. But she's being tracked as well-by a serial killer whose psychosexual madness is born out of the darkest corners of history.
No victim can escape...
In quiet isolation, Tony Hill is laying to rest the scars of his past-until he's recruited back into business on a case he can't ignore. An evil is striking uncomfortably close to home, and casting a killer shadow over the life of his long-time colleague and sometimes lover.
"The Last Temptation"
As the danger closes in, and as Tony and Carol cross paths to navigate the terrain of a shattered human mind, they have no one left to trust but themselves-and fear that there's no place left to run as a killer promises to fulfill his most twisted dreams.